Hi John,
Re Pro-punters other selections :
Gold / Super specials usually only apply to Melb/ Syd meetings where punters can get reasonably fair odds by betting top fluctuation on horses with a number of betting site / bookies such as IAS. (eg. betting to a market with say a 5% margin to the bookie compared to say 15% with the TAB).
For Brisbane/Adelaide there are usually a number of other races (ie not gold/super), where selections are given in order, but not rated. As bookies markets usually have about a 15%-20& margins (TF not available) I do not usually bet on these unless ther is something I particulary like. I have used the Bris / Adelaide selections for trifectas with about break-even success.
Propunter also has long-shot sytems and stable horses which add an additional perspective to selections but I can't say that I have really used these much at all. Maybe when looking for extra selections in Trifectas etc.

I know it must seem strange to pay for a service that only delivers several selections per week, but I have come to the conclusion that its important to carefuly select which races to bet on. Where I used to go to the track and bet on almost every race in every state, and have a lot of "fun" at times it was an expensive hobby. Now I have fun by beating the bookie, and to date have a built a sizable bank through profits that would see me having fun with IAS's money for some time yet.

P.S. - I think your conclusion re IAS using Propunter because of the average punter taking advantage of the offer, rather than only propunter members is pretty astute. I know that Propunter has had to announce that they will be placing limits on memberships soon - I think that this is because if too many people ahd the same infomation and bet with IAS then the profitable odds would be diminished.